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Held Hostage

I went out for a bike ride this morning.  I was convincing myself that April is the absolutely best time to be in Florida.  Everything is as green as it gets.  Flowers scent the air.  It is warm, but a sea breeze caresses your every movement.

I do tend tho have these Florida moments, on occasion,  when I think to myself Why do I live anywhere else?

Well, I cruised into my driveway after the bike ride and noticed something black and shiny and slithery by the steps.  It disappeared under the steps.  Good grief! The largest snake in the entire universe!  I saw it!  In my driveway!  Now under the steps!  And how was I possibly going to get into the house now?   And if I got in would I ever come out again? O.M.G.

Now, I do know that black snakes are harmless.  I know that they are far more afraid of me than I am afraid of them.  Poor snake was probably cowering under the steps for hours, in dread fear of a human nearby.

I went about my day and eventually went out to the lanai to relax and read for a bit.  I noticed the snake cautiously poke its head out from under the steps.  It wiggled out into the open.  It was tiny.

google image of what I thought I saw

Comments

  1. Snakes, rather little or big, do stop us in our tracks, don't they. I'm not afraid of them once I am sure that they are not a venomous one, but I'm not a fan of being surprised by one of them either. I am trying to get in the habit of wearing gardening gloves while working in the yard because we have little garter snakes that come to our yard, and a week ago one managed to get into our house. The garter snakes that are like the one that got into our house don't lay eggs, but have several live baby snakes. I am hoping that the one that got into our house wasn't pregnant when it came in. I haven't seen any more snakes in here. And my Fuzzy Pom isn't acting like there is anything scary lurking around in here.

    I hope your little snake finds a new home, but just in case, watch where you step, wear shoes, and don't forget your gardening gloves.

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  2. Creepy. But good for you for self-talking yourself into calmness.

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  3. I do not like to come across a snake but it doesn't throw me into a panic as much as it used to. Black snakes are harmless unless they get into the chicken house and then they eat the chicken eggs. I have had some real adventures with black snakes. Of course we also have rattle snakes and copperheads, neither of which I care to run into.

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  4. Ew. I hate snakes...and spiders.

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  5. You are safe and that is the difficulty of living in Florida. Fortunately this was not a poisonous snake. If you have bird feeders up, this might be one of the reasons.

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  6. It was probably just out sunning itself in that Florida sunshine. I'm definitely not afraid of snakes, but do believe in caution around them. My youngest son is a curator of Herpetology at a Zoo and he has always been in love with snakes. The outside cats are always catching little snakes - as well as lizards, etc. in our yard or down by the creek. I think they're kind of cute... (but DH says that I think "every critter is kind of cute").

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  7. Well, kinda creepy as you say ... but they have snakes up north too.

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  8. Yuck! We don't see snakes around here, but I'd freak out if I ever saw what you did!

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  9. It may be tiny but I think snakes are creepy! I'd have the same reaction and I'm not sure I'd have been able to go through that door. Hopefully you have a second entrance!

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  10. I think I would have moved! I don't think I could have gone inside let alone ever come out again. Hope he goes away.

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  11. I rather despise snakes. I am OK with them after that initial startle, but none the less I don't like them. Harmless or not. I read somewhere recently that we don't have an instinctual fear of them. I think that is bull. I find myself jumping at snake shaped sticks. If I ever die from a snake it will probably be cardiac arrest from being startled by it.

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  12. I'm so glad we don't have snakes in Hawaii.... for now. You are so brave.

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